Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/222

 156 General History of Europe orator, had done much to perfect the Latin tongue in his speeches and orations. Late in life he was forced to retire from active life and spent several years writing out, in Latin, treatises on duty, friendship, old age, and the gods, which have been read with pleasure ever since. While they owed much to Greek works, they ~ "ALTAR OF AUGUSTAN PEACE" The above cut shows a restoration of a magnificent marble inclosure con- taining the "Altar of Augustan Peace," erected by order of the Senate in honor of Augustus. The inclosure was open to the sky, and its surrounding walls, of which portions still exist, are covered below by a broad band of ornamental plant spirals, very sumptuous in effect. Above it is a series of reliefs, of which the one on the right of the door pictures the legendary hero jEneas bringing an offering to the temple of the Roman household gods (Penates) which he carried from Troy to Latium are so beautifully and elegantly expressed that they came to be regarded as models of Latin prose and are still used in our schools and colleges where Latin is studied. . Latin poetry appeared a generation later than Cicero, after Augustus had established peace and begun to encourage men of letters to make his reign famous by their works. Horace was particularly proud of having been able to introduce the various Greek rhythms into Latin. He wrote gay and sometimes sad little poems about human joys and loves and ambitions, which are still quoted by those fond of Latin. Virgil, the most beloved of Latin writers through the ages, described country life in his earlier